Minneapolis-Honeywell TM850 Chronotherm Thermostat
Minneapolis-Honeywell TM850 Chronotherm Thermostat
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- Description
- The Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota manufactured this Honeywell Comfort TM850 Chronotherm thermostat during the 1950s. The Honeywell Chronotherm brand has been manufactured in different models since 1935. While conventional thermostats allowed for different settings during the day and night, most had to be manually changed by hand. The Chronotherm automatically changed those settings so that the temperature could be lowered at night and then turned up each morning. The TM850 Chronotherm featured a Telechron clock and sold for $34.90 in 1950.
- The ubiquity of thermostats in 21st century homes shrouds the decades of innovation, industrial design, and engineering that went into making them an everyday object in almost every home. In the early 20th century, a majority of American households still heated their homes with manually operated furnaces that required a trip down to the basement and stoking the coal fired furnace. Albert Butz’s “damper-flapper” system was patented in 1886 and allowed home owner to set the thermostat to a certain temperature which would open a damper to the furnace, increasing the fire and heating the house. Progressive innovations allowed for the thermostats to use gas lines, incorporate electricity, turn on at a set time, include heating and cooling in one mechanism, and even connect to the internet.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- thermostat
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Honeywell Inc.
- Measurements
- overall: 4 3/4 in x 2 5/8 in x 2 7/8 in; 12.065 cm x 6.6675 cm x 7.3025 cm
- ID Number
- 2008.0011.08
- accession number
- 2008.0011
- catalog number
- 2008.0011.08
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
- Thermostats
- Domestic Furnishings
- Engineering, Building, and Architecture
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Charles Grace
Sat, 2015-03-21 15:47